Designer David Bowen has created a machine that scans an onion and makes a model of it every 24 hours.

Called Growth Modeling Device, the project is on show at Z33 in Hasselt, Belgium, as part of an exhibition called Design by Performance.

The design uses lasers to scan the onion from one of three angles every 24 hours, then prints a model from liquid plastic using the data.

The models are displayed on a conveyor belt, documenting the growth process.

Also on show at Design by Performance: Debug by Edhv, where posters are printed according to the movement of insects.

Here's some more information from Bowen:

David Bowen, Growth Modeling Device

This system uses lasers to scan an onion plant from one of three angles. As the plant is scanned a fuse deposition modeler in real-time creates a plastic model based on the information collected. The device repeats this process every twenty-four hours scanning from a different angle. After a new model is produced the system advances a conveyor approximately 17 inches so the cycle can repeat. The result is a series of plastic models illustrating the growth of the plant from three different angles.

I have seen a bunch of his work before. Pretty sure I saw some of it at this blog http://n-e-r-v-o-u-s.com/blog/ a while back which kind of focuses on the same underlining idea. Love how it mixes nature with technology to create this bastard child of science.